Article ejector station for flexograph printing machines



May 10, 1960 J. K. JACKSON 2,936,173

ARTICLE EJEICTOR STATION FOR FLEXOGRAPH PRINTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 24, 1958 INVENTOR. JbH/v K. J21 6K5 0N ARTICLE EJECTOR STATION FOR FLEXOGRAPH PRINTIN This invention relates to machines for applying imprints directly upon articles intermittently fed through a printing machine by a conveyor having a plurality of spaced article supporting members thereon. More particularly, the invention deals with an ejector station for machines of the type and kind defined for discharging the printed articles from the machine automatically onto a delivery belt for final collection and/ or packaging.

Still more particularly, the invention deals with a station of the character described, wherein the articles are fed toand moved over ejector means at the station by the article supporting members of the conveyor and delivered by gravity means at said station to the discharge belt or conveyor.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from the following description, when taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic partial sectional view of one end portion of the printing machine of the character described, showing my ejector station and diagrammatically illustrating the method of ejecting the records from the machine and delivery upon a conveyor belt; and

Fig. 2 is a plan view of part of the construction shown in Fig. 1, diagrammatically illustrating the articles and with parts of the construction broken away.

This application constitutes a continuation-in-part of my prior application, Serial No. 537,671, filed September 30, 1955, and deals primarily with the ejector station of machines as shown and described in said prior application.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing, I have diagrammatically illustrated at part of the printing station of machines of the type and kind under consideration, 11 representing the printing cylinder with the rubber printing plate 12 thereon inked by an inking roller 13, so that in the cycle of operation of the machine an article such as, for example, a phonograph disk record 14 moved beneath the cylinder 11 on article supporting members, one of which is shown at 15, and a part of an adjacent one being indicated at 15 in said figure, will be printed preparatory to discharge or ejection from the machine.

Machines of the type and kind often have two or more printing stations; however, the ejector station as at 16 will be arranged adjacent the last of the printing stations 10. The article supporting members 15 and 15 are arranged at predetermined spaced intervals along a chain, only two link units of the chain being indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 1, one link at 17, the link 17 supporting the work piece holder 15, whereas the link 18 is spaced from the link 17 and supports a feed element or finger 19. The element 19 is normally positioned adjacent the periphery of the article or record 14 as it is moved along the machine. The article or record 14 having an aperture 14' in Fig. 2 fitting freely but snugly over the coupling pin 20 of the article support 15 in definitely positioning the article on the support and spacing the same slightly from the finger 19.

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At 21 I have shown a portion of one of the sprockets over which the conveyor chain including the links 17 and 18 passes, the chain passing over at least one other sprocket at the opposed end of the machine, the latter sprocket being not shown and one of these sprockets is directly driven to feed the chain and article supports through the machine.

Each of the article supports 15 have at their upper surface a vertically yieldable plate 22 so that in the printing operation the printing cylinder or the plate 12 of the cylinder can force the article or record 14 downwardly so as to insure accurate printing of the record in the synchronized travel of the article beneath the rotating cylinder. In other words, the surface of the print plate 12 travels at the same rate of speed as the speed of the record beneath the cylinder.

The article supports 15 also include bottom plates 23 which are guided through the machine or one or more of the stations 10 by side guide rails, shown in part at 24 in Figs. 1 and 2. This is to maintain proper transverse alignment of the record with the type plate 12 of the cylinder 11. The guides 24 extend sufliciently beyond the station 10 to maintain this alignment.

It will be noted, however, that the rails 24 terminate adjacent the forward end 25 of a pair of side plates 26, constituting part of the ejector station 16, these side plates being also illustrated in part in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

Inner adjacent surfaces of the side plates have project ing upwardly inclined tracks 27 which extend onto downwardly inclined tracks 28, both tracks being disposed within upwardly extending side portions 29 of the plates 26, as clearly noted in Fig. 1 of the drawing. These extensions 29 serve to maintain the article or records '14 in a common alignment, the spacing of adjacent surfaces of the extensions 29 being such as to just clear the diameter of the record 14, as will appear from a consideration of Fig. 2 of the drawing.

Mounted in the machine and extending from the ejector station 16 and partially beneath such station is one roller 30 of a delivery or ejector belt 31, the latter being preferably formed of rubber to establish a frictional engagement with the articles or records 14 for feed to a discharge or packaging station at the opposed end of the belt 31, which end is not shown as it forms no part of the present conception.

By arranging the belt 30 in the manner described and diagrammatically shown in Fig. 1, it will appear that as the articles or records 14 are fed into the station 16 the rate of feed by virtue of the travel of the conveyor chain is such as to bring adjacent records in overlying relationship on the belt, as indicated at 32 in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. This method of procedure simplifies the ultimate stacking, collection, and/or packaging of the records at or adjacent the discharge end of the belt 31.

It will appear from the diagrammatic showing of Fig. 1 of the drawing that the records 14 clear the members 15 as said members passed over the sprocket 21 and the records feed upwardly over the inclined surfaces 27. The surfaces 27 have rounded forward ends as at 27' so that records will ride freely up onto the surfaces 27.

It will also appear from Fig. 1 of the drawing that the fingers 19 serve to maintain the records on the surfaces 27 for such period of time as the forward portion of the record overbalances the rear portion thereof, thus allowing the record to drop onto the surfaces 28. This operation takes place after the preceding record riding downwardly over the surfaces 28 has passed onto the record laying flatly upon the belt 31, as will appear from the diagrammatic showing of Fig. 1 of the drawing.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In printing machines of the character described, a

horizontally movable chain conveyor having article supporting members with articles fed through the machine by said conveyor in a horizontal path, an ejector station at one end of the machine, said station comprising a pair of upwardly and downwardly inclined tracks arranged at opposed sides. of the machine and said conveyor, said'tracks being in alinement with the longitudinal feed of the conveyor, the upwardly inclined portion of the tracks engaging an article advanced by said conveyor to first raise the article for displacement from said supporting member, and means adjacent each supporting member to then feed the article upwardly over said upwardly inclined portion of the tracks for discharge of the article by gravity over the downwardly inclined portion of the tracks at said station.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, wherein means is provided along said tracks for definitely positioning the article against lateral displacement from said tracks. 3. A structure as defined in claim 1, wherein an endless conveyor belt includes an end portion positioned beneath said ejector station and upon the surface of which articles are delivered in gravity movement of the articles over said downwardly inclined tracks.

4. A structure as defined in claim 3, wherein the speed of travel of said belt is such as to dispose portions of I successive articles one upon another in movement of the ejected articles on said belt.

5. A structure as defined'in claim 1, wherein a sprocket of said chain conveyor is positioned at said ejector station for downward movement of the article supporting members as the articles freed from said members move upwardly over the upwardly inclined tracks of said ejector References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 986,483 Messlin Mar. 14, 1911 1,291,998 Miehle Jan. 21, 1919 2,788,210 Sperry Apr. 9, 1957 

